To comply with the Construction and Demolition (C&D) Recycling Ordinance, general contractors with affected projects must submit a required recycling report. General contractors must save and track weight tickets (or qualified processor hauling summaries) in order to report tons landfilled and tons diverted for the project. The recycling report is due when the final building inspection is requested, but may be submitted earlier. 

You will need this information to submit your required recycling report: 

  • Contact information for the general contractor 
  • Project information:
    • Permit numbers
    • Floor area
    • Project address 
  • Weight tickets (provided by licensed haulers) or qualified processor hauling summaries for: 
    • Tons landfilled for the entire project 
    • Tons diverted from the landfill for the entire project 

Guidelines to report 

1. Prepare in advance

Work with your subcontractors, licensed hauler(s), and processor and/or reuse facilities for tonnage information. Before your project begins, set up a weight ticket summary spreadsheet (.xls).

2. Save and track during your project

Save all weight tickets and/or tonnage summaries throughout your project. This includes landfill trips, mixed C&D, source separated materials (like metals or cardboard) and reuse efforts.

Log weight tickets into the weight ticket summary spreadsheet (.xls) as soon as you receive them or log at regular intervals (e.g., at the end of the week or month).

3. Start your recycling report now

We recommend starting your required recycling report between when the permit is requested and issued. Once the project has started, upload your weight ticket summary spreadsheet regularly (e.g., monthly or quarterly). Starting your required report now will reduce paperwork and ease submission at the end of the project and help you meet the ordinance’s reporting requirement.

 Blue button that says start recycling report

4. Submit your completed report when you request final inspection

The required recycling report is due when final inspection is requested, but may be submitted earlier.

Failure to submit the required report when the final inspection is requested is a violation of the reporting requirement and subject to a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by fines up to $500 per day, per offense. Please note the reporting requirement to Austin Resource Recovery is separate from the permitting process with the Development Services Department.


Tonnage calculation

The recycling report requires you to enter the “tons landfilled” and “tons diverted” for your project. You can calculate these numbers two different ways:

A. Qualified processor hauling summary

Qualified processors provide a simple summary of the total tons processed and the facility’s average diversion rate. To calculate tons diverted, multiply the facility’s diversion rate by the total tons processed. To calculate tons landfilled, subtract tons diverted from total tons.

Example: 100 total tons processed at a qualified processing facility with an 85% average diversion rate.

85% diversion rate x 100 total tons = 85 tons diverted

100 total tons – 85 tons diverted = 15 tons landfilled

B. Individual weight tickets

Processors and licensed haulers often provide weight tickets with the tons landfilled and tons diverted for each load of construction and demolition debris removed from a job site.

To calculate total tons landfilled and tons diverted for an entire project, add the tons landfilled and tons diverted from all of the weight tickets for your project. Download a weight ticket summary spreadsheet (.xls) to calculate these numbers.